Shloka 4
इति द्वैपायनो व्यासो नारदश्न महातपा: । जामदग्न्यशक्ष॒ रामो न: कथामकथयत् पुरा,“यह बात पूर्वकालमें द्वैवायन व्यासजी, महातपस्वी नारदजी तथा जमदग्निनन्दन परशुरामजीने हमलोगोंको बतायी थी
iti dvaipāyano vyāso nāradaś ca mahātapāḥ | jāmadagnyaś ca rāmo naḥ kathām akathayat purā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Thus, in former times, Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, the great ascetic Nārada, and Rāma the son of Jamadagni (Paraśurāma) recounted this account to us.” The verse frames the narrative as a received tradition from revered sages, underscoring the ethical weight and authority of what follows.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the authority and ethical seriousness of the forthcoming account by grounding it in a trustworthy lineage of transmission (Vyāsa, Nārada, and Paraśurāma). In the Mahābhārata, such framing signals that the narrative is not mere entertainment but a dharma-instructive tradition preserved by revered sages.
Vaiśaṃpāyana introduces or reinforces that the story being told was previously narrated to ‘us’ by eminent figures—Vyāsa, Nārada, and Paraśurāma—thereby authenticating the account and preparing the listener for the next portion of the Udyoga Parva narrative.